Gal Ofir
@galofir.bsky.social
Departmental Group Leader - Plant Immunogenomics 🌱🧬🦠
Max Planck Institute for Biology - Tübingen 🇩🇪. Plant immunity and other small things
Max Planck Institute for Biology - Tübingen 🇩🇪. Plant immunity and other small things
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Great talk by @delphinem-p.bsky.social from @geminiteamlab.bsky.social yesterday: “Hijacking the Plant #Spliceosome” on how alternative splicing drives #viral infection and #tomato fruit development 🍅
Thanks to our host @incavirus.bsky.social for organizing this insightful seminar! 👏
Thanks to our host @incavirus.bsky.social for organizing this insightful seminar! 👏
November 27, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Great talk by @delphinem-p.bsky.social from @geminiteamlab.bsky.social yesterday: “Hijacking the Plant #Spliceosome” on how alternative splicing drives #viral infection and #tomato fruit development 🍅
Thanks to our host @incavirus.bsky.social for organizing this insightful seminar! 👏
Thanks to our host @incavirus.bsky.social for organizing this insightful seminar! 👏
Reposted by Gal Ofir
An amazing article. Highly recommended!
Every biologist knows the story of Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin. But is it true?
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
The Penicillin Myth
Competing theories seek to explain inconsistencies surrounding Alexander Fleming’s famed discovery.
press.asimov.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:07 PM
An amazing article. Highly recommended!
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Medieval agricultural and trade practices in southwestern Germany boosted plant diversity for centuries, with biodiversity peaking around 1000 CE and declining only when human activity contracted during the Black Death. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/Q6ca50XxIvC
November 25, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Medieval agricultural and trade practices in southwestern Germany boosted plant diversity for centuries, with biodiversity peaking around 1000 CE and declining only when human activity contracted during the Black Death. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/Q6ca50XxIvC
Reposted by Gal Ofir
1/5
🚨🚨 preprint alert! 🚨🚨
I wish to introduce CARDIB, not the singer, but the protein.
CARDIB=CARD Inhibitory Binding protein.
In our new work we discover this antiviral protein that is found in all Anthozoa (sea anemones and corals 🪸) but not in other animals.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🚨🚨 preprint alert! 🚨🚨
I wish to introduce CARDIB, not the singer, but the protein.
CARDIB=CARD Inhibitory Binding protein.
In our new work we discover this antiviral protein that is found in all Anthozoa (sea anemones and corals 🪸) but not in other animals.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
An ancient anthozoan protein reveals an alternative evolutionary path of antiviral signaling
How antiviral immunity first arose in animals is a central question in evolutionary biology. Using the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, we identify CARDIB, a previously uncharacterized gene located...
www.biorxiv.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:06 PM
1/5
🚨🚨 preprint alert! 🚨🚨
I wish to introduce CARDIB, not the singer, but the protein.
CARDIB=CARD Inhibitory Binding protein.
In our new work we discover this antiviral protein that is found in all Anthozoa (sea anemones and corals 🪸) but not in other animals.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🚨🚨 preprint alert! 🚨🚨
I wish to introduce CARDIB, not the singer, but the protein.
CARDIB=CARD Inhibitory Binding protein.
In our new work we discover this antiviral protein that is found in all Anthozoa (sea anemones and corals 🪸) but not in other animals.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Protein domains have no single definition, so why stick to one segmentation? 🧩
Instead of forcing structures into rigid classifications, we built AFragmenter. It uses AlphaFold PAE networks for a tuneable approach to domain parsing.
You control the granularity. 👇
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
Instead of forcing structures into rigid classifications, we built AFragmenter. It uses AlphaFold PAE networks for a tuneable approach to domain parsing.
You control the granularity. 👇
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
November 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Protein domains have no single definition, so why stick to one segmentation? 🧩
Instead of forcing structures into rigid classifications, we built AFragmenter. It uses AlphaFold PAE networks for a tuneable approach to domain parsing.
You control the granularity. 👇
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
Instead of forcing structures into rigid classifications, we built AFragmenter. It uses AlphaFold PAE networks for a tuneable approach to domain parsing.
You control the granularity. 👇
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Some news 🎉
After five incredible years in Tübingen, it’s time to say goodbye.
Starting February, the Mutualisms Lab will relocate to the John Innes Centre, right next door to @berasymbionts.bsky.social and her group at The Sainsbury Laboratory 🪲🦠
After five incredible years in Tübingen, it’s time to say goodbye.
Starting February, the Mutualisms Lab will relocate to the John Innes Centre, right next door to @berasymbionts.bsky.social and her group at The Sainsbury Laboratory 🪲🦠
November 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Some news 🎉
After five incredible years in Tübingen, it’s time to say goodbye.
Starting February, the Mutualisms Lab will relocate to the John Innes Centre, right next door to @berasymbionts.bsky.social and her group at The Sainsbury Laboratory 🪲🦠
After five incredible years in Tübingen, it’s time to say goodbye.
Starting February, the Mutualisms Lab will relocate to the John Innes Centre, right next door to @berasymbionts.bsky.social and her group at The Sainsbury Laboratory 🪲🦠
Reposted by Gal Ofir
PRESS RELEASE – Dr Hassan Salem to lead independent research group on plant-insect interactions
Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
November 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
PRESS RELEASE – Dr Hassan Salem to lead independent research group on plant-insect interactions
Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
The Vienna BioCenter Summer School 2026 call is now open for talented undergrads, it's a great opportunity for students who are interested in graduate study in the life sciences. Georg Busslinger from CeMM is recruiting! Please share
https://training.vbc.ac.at/summer-school/
https://training.vbc.ac.at/summer-school/
November 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
The Vienna BioCenter Summer School 2026 call is now open for talented undergrads, it's a great opportunity for students who are interested in graduate study in the life sciences. Georg Busslinger from CeMM is recruiting! Please share
https://training.vbc.ac.at/summer-school/
https://training.vbc.ac.at/summer-school/
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Plant Science Research Weekly -- Cracking the oat code: a comprehensive pangenome and pantranscriptome resource (Nature) @howarthoats.bsky.social (Summary by Ching Chan) buff.ly/tJW1bEw
#PlantaePSRW
#PlantaePSRW
Cracking the oat code: A comprehensive pangenome and pantranscriptome resource | Plantae
Oat (Avena sativa) is a globally cultivated cereal for its rich dietary fiber and health-promoting benefits. Yet, despite its nutritional importance, oat genomics has long lagged behind other cereals…
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Plant Science Research Weekly -- Cracking the oat code: a comprehensive pangenome and pantranscriptome resource (Nature) @howarthoats.bsky.social (Summary by Ching Chan) buff.ly/tJW1bEw
#PlantaePSRW
#PlantaePSRW
Reposted by Gal Ofir
🪱 Selfish genes are everywhere and drive some of biology’s biggest innovations (CRISPR, antibody recombination, epigenetics). Yet almost no one asks the obvious question: how does a selfish gene begin? Our new manuscript uncovers how selfishness can emerge directly from the host genome.
November 24, 2025 at 1:03 PM
🪱 Selfish genes are everywhere and drive some of biology’s biggest innovations (CRISPR, antibody recombination, epigenetics). Yet almost no one asks the obvious question: how does a selfish gene begin? Our new manuscript uncovers how selfishness can emerge directly from the host genome.
Reposted by Gal Ofir
📣NEWS: We are delighted to share that Dr Aileen Berasategui @berasymbionts.bsky.social will join us as a new group leader next year.
“Aileen is an exceptionally talented scientist and brings new expertise to TSL in plant-insect-fungal interactions” says @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social
buff.ly/kRs4ASU
“Aileen is an exceptionally talented scientist and brings new expertise to TSL in plant-insect-fungal interactions” says @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social
buff.ly/kRs4ASU
November 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM
📣NEWS: We are delighted to share that Dr Aileen Berasategui @berasymbionts.bsky.social will join us as a new group leader next year.
“Aileen is an exceptionally talented scientist and brings new expertise to TSL in plant-insect-fungal interactions” says @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social
buff.ly/kRs4ASU
“Aileen is an exceptionally talented scientist and brings new expertise to TSL in plant-insect-fungal interactions” says @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social
buff.ly/kRs4ASU
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Getting ready for our #PlantGenomics courses! 🌱🔬
The course is almost full, so check out the details soon if you want to join and learn about the power of long-read sequencing and cloud-based data analysis.
Feel free to spread the word!
👉 www.izmb.uni-bonn.de/en/pbb/news#...
@puckerlab.bsky.social
The course is almost full, so check out the details soon if you want to join and learn about the power of long-read sequencing and cloud-based data analysis.
Feel free to spread the word!
👉 www.izmb.uni-bonn.de/en/pbb/news#...
@puckerlab.bsky.social
November 19, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Getting ready for our #PlantGenomics courses! 🌱🔬
The course is almost full, so check out the details soon if you want to join and learn about the power of long-read sequencing and cloud-based data analysis.
Feel free to spread the word!
👉 www.izmb.uni-bonn.de/en/pbb/news#...
@puckerlab.bsky.social
The course is almost full, so check out the details soon if you want to join and learn about the power of long-read sequencing and cloud-based data analysis.
Feel free to spread the word!
👉 www.izmb.uni-bonn.de/en/pbb/news#...
@puckerlab.bsky.social
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Our new preprint is online! Viruses, bacteria and parasites use effector proteins to evade immunity and rewire host cell pathways. Together with @AlexanderStark8, we wondered if we could systematically map what these effectors, regardless of their origin, do in human cells. 1/8
www.biorxiv.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Our new preprint is online! Viruses, bacteria and parasites use effector proteins to evade immunity and rewire host cell pathways. Together with @AlexanderStark8, we wondered if we could systematically map what these effectors, regardless of their origin, do in human cells. 1/8
Reposted by Gal Ofir
"I was (...) surprised to learn about the #childcare #grants available through EMBO. Not many other institutions provide these opportunities (...)” says Sheila Roitman, EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow at Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: https://www.embo.org/people/a-resilient-journey-through-science/ 🧪 #funding
November 18, 2025 at 12:20 PM
"I was (...) surprised to learn about the #childcare #grants available through EMBO. Not many other institutions provide these opportunities (...)” says Sheila Roitman, EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow at Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: https://www.embo.org/people/a-resilient-journey-through-science/ 🧪 #funding
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Very proud of Catarina Lino for facilitating the first ever sequencing of a plant genome on Zimbabwean soil, together with local organiser and collaborator Prince Marowa.
With thanks to the Max Planck Society ARTEMIS Bridging Minds and the University of Zimbabwe! www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-pat...
With thanks to the Max Planck Society ARTEMIS Bridging Minds and the University of Zimbabwe! www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-pat...
💪🏽 Very proud of Catarina Lino for facilitating the first ever sequencing of a plant genome on Zimbabwean soil, together with local organiser and collaborator Prince Marowa. The workshop's lecture...
💪🏽 Very proud of Catarina Lino for facilitating the first ever sequencing of a plant genome on Zimbabwean soil, together with local organiser and collaborator Prince Marowa. The workshop's lecture ser...
www.linkedin.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Very proud of Catarina Lino for facilitating the first ever sequencing of a plant genome on Zimbabwean soil, together with local organiser and collaborator Prince Marowa.
With thanks to the Max Planck Society ARTEMIS Bridging Minds and the University of Zimbabwe! www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-pat...
With thanks to the Max Planck Society ARTEMIS Bridging Minds and the University of Zimbabwe! www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-pat...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
We’re #hiring! Our #IMPRS @mpipz.bsky.social & @unicologne.bsky.social recruits 4 PhD students. We look for candidates with a keen interest in experimental & computational plant biology to join us in 2026!
Find details at www.mpipz.mpg.de/imprs/imprs-... and apply by Jan 5.
#PlantSciJobs
Find details at www.mpipz.mpg.de/imprs/imprs-... and apply by Jan 5.
#PlantSciJobs
November 17, 2025 at 9:00 AM
We’re #hiring! Our #IMPRS @mpipz.bsky.social & @unicologne.bsky.social recruits 4 PhD students. We look for candidates with a keen interest in experimental & computational plant biology to join us in 2026!
Find details at www.mpipz.mpg.de/imprs/imprs-... and apply by Jan 5.
#PlantSciJobs
Find details at www.mpipz.mpg.de/imprs/imprs-... and apply by Jan 5.
#PlantSciJobs
Reposted by Gal Ofir
periodic reminder of the existence of Atkinson Hyperlegible, a free font available from the Braille Institute designed to improve readability for people with low vision
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
Atkinson Hyperlegible Font - Braille Institute
Read easier with Atkinson Hyperlegible Font, crafted for low-vision readers. Download for free and enjoy clear letters and numbers on your computer!
www.brailleinstitute.org
November 17, 2025 at 4:19 AM
periodic reminder of the existence of Atkinson Hyperlegible, a free font available from the Braille Institute designed to improve readability for people with low vision
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
Reposted by Gal Ofir
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM
NEW pub in @science.org 🥳
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?
For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.
We provide new evidence suggesting that...
🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Congratulations to Sorek lab alumnus Nitzan Tal, who won the prestigious 2025 Science & SciLifeLab prize for the best PhD thesis in Systems Biology! 💫
Read her Prize Assay, published in the journal Science today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@nitzantal.bsky.social
Read her Prize Assay, published in the journal Science today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@nitzantal.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Congratulations to Sorek lab alumnus Nitzan Tal, who won the prestigious 2025 Science & SciLifeLab prize for the best PhD thesis in Systems Biology! 💫
Read her Prize Assay, published in the journal Science today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@nitzantal.bsky.social
Read her Prize Assay, published in the journal Science today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@nitzantal.bsky.social
Thanks so much for the invitation and hospitality @somssich.bsky.social and Viktor! Super impressed by the work you do at @kwsgroup.bsky.social! I have now a whole new appreciation for sugar beet 🧬🤯
This week we welcomed @galofir.bsky.social from @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social at @kwsgroup.bsky.social for our #PlantScience R&D Lecture.
It was a pleasure to finally meet, learn about his #PlantImmunity & #ImmunoGenomics work to uncover evolutionary conserved defense mechanisms, & talk plant science. 👍🤓
It was a pleasure to finally meet, learn about his #PlantImmunity & #ImmunoGenomics work to uncover evolutionary conserved defense mechanisms, & talk plant science. 👍🤓
November 14, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Thanks so much for the invitation and hospitality @somssich.bsky.social and Viktor! Super impressed by the work you do at @kwsgroup.bsky.social! I have now a whole new appreciation for sugar beet 🧬🤯
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Brasó-Vives et al. publish a new Perspective in GBE, highlighting underexplored dimensions of genomic variation that contribute to phenotypic diversity beyond the DNA sequence, contributing to our understanding of genome evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf204
#genome #evolution
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf204
#genome #evolution
November 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Brasó-Vives et al. publish a new Perspective in GBE, highlighting underexplored dimensions of genomic variation that contribute to phenotypic diversity beyond the DNA sequence, contributing to our understanding of genome evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf204
#genome #evolution
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf204
#genome #evolution
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Interested in #sustainability? 🧪 Read the interview "Science for a Sustainable Future" with Ron Milo, Professor and Dean of Education at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and EMBO Member: https://www.embo.org/people/science-for-a-sustainable-future-ron-milo-on-biology-and-scientific-storytelling/
November 14, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Interested in #sustainability? 🧪 Read the interview "Science for a Sustainable Future" with Ron Milo, Professor and Dean of Education at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and EMBO Member: https://www.embo.org/people/science-for-a-sustainable-future-ron-milo-on-biology-and-scientific-storytelling/
Reposted by Gal Ofir
This is a remarkable study describing a new fungal species in a 407 million year old plant - Rugososporomyces lavoisierae Strullu-Derrien and Schornack sp. nov - using some amazing technology. Worth a read 👇
Confocal scanning laser microscopy, fluorescence lifetime imaging & Raman analyses allowed @nhm-london.bsky.social, @slcuplants.bsky.social & @cambridge-ee.bsky.social researchers to resolve plant & fungal structures fossil
Read in @newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@dromius.bsky.social
Read in @newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@dromius.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 9:37 AM
This is a remarkable study describing a new fungal species in a 407 million year old plant - Rugososporomyces lavoisierae Strullu-Derrien and Schornack sp. nov - using some amazing technology. Worth a read 👇
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Happy to see this paper from my time with @spicybotrytis.bsky.social out in @theplantcell.bsky.social!
Amanda, a fantastic PhD student with Dan, led this "phylo-functional" work & uncovered complex duplication & loss of a glucosinolate gene across the Brassicaceae affecting enantiomeric specificity
Amanda, a fantastic PhD student with Dan, led this "phylo-functional" work & uncovered complex duplication & loss of a glucosinolate gene across the Brassicaceae affecting enantiomeric specificity
Convergence and constraint in glucosinolate evolution across the Brassicaceae
Studying a glucosinolate enzyme across the Brassicaceae shows evolution of plant specialized metabolism involves independent gene losses, distal duplicatio
academic.oup.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Happy to see this paper from my time with @spicybotrytis.bsky.social out in @theplantcell.bsky.social!
Amanda, a fantastic PhD student with Dan, led this "phylo-functional" work & uncovered complex duplication & loss of a glucosinolate gene across the Brassicaceae affecting enantiomeric specificity
Amanda, a fantastic PhD student with Dan, led this "phylo-functional" work & uncovered complex duplication & loss of a glucosinolate gene across the Brassicaceae affecting enantiomeric specificity